Environmental Practices
Materials. When choosing material suppliers for our wood furniture line, Jonti-Craft only selects those with proper forestry management plans. Our suppliers have forest re-growth and harvest plans that ensure they are utilizing the environment in a low impact manner. Jonti-Craft was founded on our commitment to deliver safe, high-quality products for children in busy classrooms and daycare centers in conjunction with our desire to produce air-quality friendly furniture.
KYDZTuff Finish. Jonti-Craft was the first early childhood furniture manufacturer in the United States to use ultra-violet (UV) finish (KYDZTuff® Finish). Unlike other finishes, including commonly used water base finish (usually 24% solids), KYDZTuff® Finish is over 99% solids, thus, reducing the amount of solvents that are released into the atmosphere through the drying process. Another advantage to Jonti-Craft‘s KYDZTuff® Finish is that we use a roller coater to apply the finish to all flat surfaces. Unlike other application processes (spraying) and curing processes, there is virtually no loss of materials with our UV finish. Although Jonti-Craft generates less than 1% of waste finish product, we do still recycle this waste; it is sent to a chemical reclaimer and reformulated. A portion of this reformulated product is returned to Jonti-Craft to reuse in the cleaning process and the remaining is used to make concrete for highways.
Wood Scrap. Nearly all of Jonti-Craft‘s wood waste materials are recycled in some form or fashion. We carefully optimize our use of wood materials to ensure we keep our scrap at a minimum. But, when lumber scraps are generated, Jonti-Craft makes sure to reuse them in any application possible. Smaller scraps are even sent through a hammer mill located inside Jonti-Craft, which grinds them down into saw dust to be use for agricultural purposes.
Box Making Efficiency. Jonti-Craft was among the first furniture manufacturers in the United States to purchase a boxing making machine. The boxing machine allows for full-utilization of cardboard and reduces scrap and damages. This allows Jonti-Craft to create boxes for packaging on demand, rather than having to purchase pre-made boxes. Thus, we only make the boxes we need, so there is no overstock or unnecessary disposal of excess, unused cardboard boxes. In addition, all extra cardboard is baled and sent to a cardboard recycler who uses the material to make new boxes.
Paper Reduction. Jonti-Craft is a strong supporter of using paperless technology whenever possible. Today, approximately 80 percent of all our orders and invoices are received and transmitted electronically. Our factory is supported by stationary and hand held computers rather than a manufacturing process that requires excessive amounts of paper. Additionally, Jonti-Craft customers can obtain freight quotes for our products and view order history, order status, and invoices on our website. We promote new products, special sale items, and other pertinent company information through e-mails rather than the use of printed media.